Written Answers Wednesday 4 March 2009

Scottish Executive

Alcohol

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive under what legal or other mechanism minimum alcohol pricing could be introduced.

Kenny MacAskill: As set out in Changing Scotland’s Relationship with Alcohol: A Framework for Action (Bib. number 47805) we will pursue the introduction of a minimum price per unit of alcohol as a mandatory condition of Premises Licences and Occasional Licences granted under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.

Antisocial Behaviour

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that antisocial behaviour orders are being used effectively to prevent gang members from associating with each other.

Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government does not hold data on the use of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) for preventing gang members from associating with each other. ASBOs can be useful for tackling disorder but are only one of many tools available to local agencies. Enforcement measures alone will not solve the deep seated problems that fuel disorder in our communities. Only by pursuing an holistic multi-agency approach that places prevention and early intervention at the centre, through education and support, will do that.

  The Scottish Government has invested £1.6 million in the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) – the Glasgow gangs initiative with education, prevention and rehabilitation at the heart of the initiative which is being led by the Violence Reduction Unit. This will create a systematic framework for coordination, focused around risk/needs assessment and then provision of an appropriate range of joined-up services, ranging from enforcement through to intensive support. It will deliver a holistic and coordinated plan to reduce violence among territorial gangs in the East of Glasgow.

Antisocial Behaviour

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders prohibited offenders from associating with gang members in each of the last two years.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.

Antisocial Behaviour

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-11399 by Fergus Ewing on 8 April 2008, what the status is of the review of its antisocial behaviour strategy and when it will be published.

Fergus Ewing: The review of national antisocial behaviour policy will be published shortly.

Antisocial Behaviour

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-11399 by Fergus Ewing on 8 April 2008, what legislative options have been explored as a means of resolving disputes about high hedges and whether it plans to pursue any of these options.

Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government has been considering a range of legislative options and will outline its intentions shortly, when the review of national antisocial behaviour policy reports.

Autism

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19933 by Adam Ingram on 30 January 2009, what actions it will take to ensure that children’s and adults’ services in local authorities work effectively together to share information and plan services for young people with autism who are approaching adulthood.

Adam Ingram: As set out in the answer to question S3W-19933 on 30 January 2009, the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 requires education authorities to take action, where appropriate, to help young people with additional support needs, including autism, to make the transition from school to post-school life successfully. Under the definition employed in the act, an "education authority" encompasses a local authority as a whole, including its children’s and adults’ services. As detailed in that earlier reply we have taken action on a number of fronts to strengthen transition pathways and improve life outcomes for all young people with autism. In addition, initiatives to improve information sharing and service planning for all children and young people under the Getting it right for every child programme and following the publication of the Early Years Framework will help in relation to children and young people affected by autism, as in relation to all children.

Autism

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that every local authority has a named individual or team with responsibility for coordinating services for adults with autism.

Shona Robison: The guidance for commissioners of services for people on the autism spectrum includes a recommendation for local authorities and health boards to work in partnership to appoint an ASD coordinator.

  Reviewing the guidance and other national policy developments for ASD and learning disability remains on the agenda of The same as you? national implementation group.

Bute House

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-ministerial events have been held in Bute House in each year since 1999 and who bore the cost of each such event.

John Swinney: Information regarding non-ministerial events held at Bute House is not held centrally.

Cancer

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken by NHS boards participating in the national bowel screening programme to target groups with low uptake.

Nicola Sturgeon: Data from the Scottish Bowel Screening pilot showed that uptake was higher in women than in men and uptake was lowest in deprived areas.

  NHS boards are looking at means to encourage relevant individuals’ participation in the programme through, for example, the use of Keep Well projects to include information about the bowel screening programme. New programme posters, a flyer and a DVD are also being developed to help NHS boards target specific groups.

Cancer

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional funding will be provided to NHS Lanarkshire to ensure the successful implementation of the national bowel screening programme in August 2009.

Nicola Sturgeon: Costs for the home test kits, laboratory functions, call/recall office and helpline are centrally funded and managed.

  NHS Education Scotland (NES) was commissioned in March 2006 to develop a national programme to support the education and training of health care professionals undertaking endoscopy. The estimates of numbers required were 150 clinicians and 25 non-medical endoscopists to help increase endoscopy capacity as part of the preparation for roll-out of the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme. Since 2006, NES has trained 171 clinicians and 31 non-medical endoscopists.

  Additionally, those screened positive patients who require further hospital care such as a diagnostic test or treatment will be covered by the 62 day target to treatment. The Scottish Government has also made significant funding available towards the delivery of our 18 weeks "whole - journey" (referral to treatment) target which includes improvement in reducing waiting times for diagnostic services such as endoscopy. These new targets are due to delivery by the end of December 2011.

Central Heating Programme

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners who were assessed as eligible but not prioritised have received a central heating system under the central heating programme since 22 May 2009.

Alex Neil: Only applicants in the priority groups announced on 22 May 2008 and again on 18 October 2008, have gone on to receive a central heating system under the programme.

Central Heating Programme

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners between the ages of 60 and 74 not in receipt of the guaranteed element of the pension credit have received a central heating system under the central heating programme as a result of their system being (a) broken beyond repair or (b) partial or inefficient since 22 May 2008.

Alex Neil: To better target the fuel poor, since 22 May 2008 central heating systems were made available to applicants who fall into the priority groups announced by the Cabinet Secretary on 22 May 2008 and again on 18 October 2008. On 22 May the priority group was those who have never had a central heating system; those who have a system which is broken beyond repair and are aged 80 or over; and those who have a system which is broken beyond repair and are aged 60 to 79 and in receipt of the guarantee element of pension credit.

  On 18 October the Cabinet Secretary announced that from 27 October the priority group would be widened to include those who have never had a central heating system; those who have a system which is broken beyond repair and are aged 75 or over; those who have a system which is broken beyond repair and are aged 60 to 74 and in receipt of the guarantee element of pension credit, and those who have a partial or inefficient system and are in receipt of the guarantee element of pension credit or are aged 80 or over.

  Applicants aged 60 to 74 and not in receipt of the guarantee element of pension credit are not in a priority group.

Children

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of primary seven children has had body mass index (BMI) measured on a three yearly basis, as recommended in Health for All Children 4: Guidance on Implementation in Scotland .

Shona Robison: Health for All Children (Hall 4) guidance recommends that BMI be recorded in primary 7 children every three years for public health monitoring purposes from 2007-08. There is no requirement for this to be monitored by the Scottish Government and these are not official statistics and are not routinely released for publication.

  Information on body mass index (BMI), derived from height and weight measurements recorded in primary seven, is available for NHS boards which use the Child Health School system (CHSP-S) and routinely collect BMI measurement. Data for school years 2007-08 are shown in the following table.

  Table 1: Recording of Height and Weight in Primary Seven

  

 Total (all NHS Boards participating in CHSP - School)1,2,
 2007-08


 Population estimate of 11-year-olds
 40,339


 Number of children who had their height and weight recorded3
 9,883


 Estimated percentage of children who had their height and weight recorded4
 24.5%



  Source: ISD Scotland, CHSP-S Nov 2008 and General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) Ref: IR2009-00320.

  Notes:

  1. Data are not available for the following NHS boards: NHS Grampian, former NHS Greater Glasgow, NHS Highland, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland.

  2. For the period shown, the school system was not implemented in all areas of former NHS Argyll and Clyde.

  3. A proportion of the height and weight measurements recorded on CHSP-School may be invalid.

  4. The GRO mid-year population estimate of 11-year-olds has been used to approximate the number of children in primary seven in the NHS boards participating in CHSP – School.

  BMI statistics were recorded for primary 7 children and published until 2004-05. This information is available from the following link. http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3640.html.

Children

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours of study per week qualify as full-time study for students applying for Education Maintenance Allowance to study for highers in (a) schools and (b) colleges.

Fiona Hyslop: Young people are required to attend non-advanced full-time courses, including highers, in order to be eligible to apply for an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). Within the school sector, full-time usually means at least 21 guided learning hours per week. In colleges, a course with at least 720 planned hours within one academic year qualifies as full-time.

  There is a degree of flexibility around the number of hours making up a full-time course, particularly for vulnerable students who may require non-standard attendance patterns. Each student is required to sign a learning agreement which will contain conditions on attendance and agreed learning goals.

Competition Act 1998

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its policy to introduce minimum alcohol pricing would require an exemption to be sought under the Competition Act 1998.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to answers to questions S3W-15628 on 9 September 2008 and S3W-18002 on 26 November 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Dentistry

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are waiting to register with an NHS dentist in the Wick and Thurso area.

Shona Robison: I can confirm that at present there are 7,256 people on the waiting list for registration with a dentist under NHS arrangements in the Wick and Thurso area.

  There are long-term problems with access to general dental services (GDS) in Highland where independent general dental practitioners (GDPs) have taken the decision to reduce their commitment to the NHS. As independent contractors NHS boards cannot force GDPs to register patients under NHS arrangements.

Dentistry

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have requested access to an NHS dentist in each year since 1999, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Shona Robison: This information is not held.

  The majority of dentists are independent contractors who are responsible for managing access to NHS dental services at their own practices. Information on the number of patients directly approaching independent dentists for access to NHS general dental services is not held.

  Most NHS boards have dental advice lines and may keep information on the number of patients contacting the board for help in accessing NHS dental treatment. This information is not held centrally.

Drug Misuse

Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest figures are on underage drinking, broken down by (a) age group and (b) local authority.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) is a series of biennial surveys commissioned by ISD Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government to gather data on the prevalence, attitudes and behaviour of young people in Scotland with regard to smoking, drinking and drug use.

  The 2006 survey provides information on alcohol consumption, at national and local level, for 13 and 15-year-olds. Nationally, it found that 84% of 15-year-olds and 57% of 13-year-olds had had an alcoholic drink. Both represent a decrease on the 2004 results of 88% for 15-year-olds and 68% for 13-year-olds.

  Our Framework for Action on alcohol misuse outlines the measures we are putting in place to tackle underage drinking and we will be evaluating the success of these through data from SALSUS and other sources such as alcohol related hospital admissions.

  The 2006 local authority reports are available at:

  http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/abstracts/salsuslocal_la2006.htm.

  The results of the 2008 survey will be published later this year.

Drug Misuse

Tom McCabe (Hamilton South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under 16 can be classified as regular drug-users, broken down by (a) age and (b) local authority.

Fergus Ewing: Information on drug use by under-16s in Scotland is not centrally collected in the manner requested. The frequency of reported drug use of 13 and 15 year olds (S2 and S4 pupils) in Scotland is collected by the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS). The most recent information available was collected in 2006.

  Frequency of drug use, as reported by 13 and 15-year-olds, Scotland 2006:

  

 
 Never Tried Any Drugs
 Only Tried Drugs Once
 Don’t Take Them Now
 A Few Times a Year
 Once or Twice a Month
 At Least Once a Week
 Most Days


 13 year olds
 93%
 4%
 1%
 1%
 1%
 0%
 1%


 15 year olds
 75%
 10%
 5%
 4%
 4%
 2%
 2%



  Note: Due to rounding, percentages may not add up to 100%.

  Frequency of drug use, as reported by 13 year olds, by council area of residence, Scotland 2006:

  

 13-Year-Olds
 Never Tried any Drugs
 Only tried Drugs Once
 Don’t Take them Now
 A Few Times a Year
 Once or Twice a Month
 At Least Once a Week


 Aberdeen City 
 95%
 3%
 1%
 *
 1%
 1%


 Aberdeenshire 
 98%
 1%
 1%
 *
 *
 *


 Angus 
 99%
 1%
 0%
 0%
 0%
 1%


 Argyll and Bute 
 89%
 5%
 2%
 2%
 *
 2%


 Borders
 95%
 3%
 *
 *
 *
 1%


 Clackmannanshire1 
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Dumfries and Galloway 
 93%
 4%
 1%
 0%
 1%
 *


 Dundee City 
 92%
 4%
 2%
 1%
 1%
 0%


 East Ayrshire
 92%
 5%
 1%
 1%
 *
 1%


 East Dunbartonshire 
 96%
 1%
 4%
 0%
 0%
 0%


 East Lothian 
 94%
 4%
 *
 *
 1%
 *


 East Renfrewshire 
 94%
 3%
 1%
 1%
 1%
 *


 Edinburgh City 
 93%
 3%
 1%
 *
 1%
 1%


 Eilean Siar
 94%
 4%
 0%
 2%
 1%
 0%


 Falkirk 
 91%
 5%
 1%
 1%
 1%
 1%


 Fife 
 91%
 4%
 2%
 2%
 0%
 2%


 Glasgow City 
 89%
 6%
 2%
 *
 1%
 1%


 Highland 
 94%
 3%
 1%
 1%
 *
 *


 Inverclyde 
 87%
 6%
 1%
 2%
 1%
 3%


 Midlothian 
 90%
 8%
 *
 1%
 *
 1%


 Moray
 93%
 4%
 1%
 1%
 *
 *


 North Ayrshire
 94%
 2%
 2%
 1%
 *
 1%


 North Lanarkshire 
 92%
 4%
 1%
 1%
 *
 1%


 Orkney
 93%
 3%
 0%
 1%
 1%
 1%


 Perth and Kinross 
 94%
 3%
 *
 1%
 *
 1%


 Renfrewshire 
 94%
 5%
 *
 0%
 1%
 1%


 Shetland
 95%
 2%
 2%
 1%
 0%
 0%


 South Ayrshire 
 95%
 1%
 1%
 1%
 1%
 1%


 South Lanarkshire 
 92%
 5%
 1%
 1%
 1%
 1%


 Stirling 
 87%
 9%
 0%
 0%
 3%
 *


 West Dunbartonshire 
 91%
 4%
 1%
 2%
 2%
 1%


 West Lothian 
 92%
 5%
 1%
 1%
 1%
 1%



  Notes:

  1. No schools in Clackmannanshire participated in the survey, figures not available.

  *Less than 0.5% but not 0%

  Due to rounding, percentages may not add up to 100%.

  Frequency of drug use, as reported by 15-year-olds, by council area of residence, Scotland 2006:

  

 15-Year-Olds
 Never Tried any Drugs
 Only tried Drugs Once
 Don’t Take Them Now
 A Few Times a Year
 Once or Twice a Month
 At Least Once a Week


 Aberdeen City 
 84%
 5%
 4%
 3%
 1%
 2%


 Aberdeenshire 
 80%
 8%
 4%
 3%
 3%
 2%


 Angus 
 77%
 12%
 4%
 1%
 2%
 4%


 Argyll and Bute 
 73%
 11%
 3%
 5%
 3%
 4%


 Borders
 70%
 8%
 4%
 8%
 5%
 4%


 Clackmannanshire1 
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Dumfries and Galloway 
 80%
 8%
 5%
 4%
 3%
 1%


 Dundee City 
 80%
 7%
 3%
 3%
 3%
 4%


 East Ayrshire
 70%
 15%
 5%
 4%
 3%
 3%


 East Dunbartonshire 
 74%
 5%
 8%
 6%
 3%
 4%


 East Lothian 
 78%
 9%
 4%
 4%
 3%
 3%


 East Renfrewshire 
 71%
 12%
 6%
 3%
 3%
 4%


 Edinburgh City 
 74%
 9%
 3%
 4%
 4%
 5%


 Eilean Siar
 75%
 12%
 5%
 2%
 2%
 4%


 Falkirk 
 72%
 11%
 7%
 6%
 3%
 2%


 Fife 
 73%
 9%
 5%
 3%
 6%
 4%


 Glasgow City 
 74%
 11%
 6%
 4%
 3%
 2%


 Highland 
 78%
 8%
 5%
 5%
 2%
 3%


 Inverclyde 
 74%
 12%
 4%
 3%
 2%
 5%


 Midlothian 
 74%
 9%
 8%
 2%
 3%
 4%


 Moray
 71%
 11%
 6%
 9%
 1%
 2%


 North Ayrshire
 75%
 9%
 5%
 4%
 2%
 4%


 North Lanarkshire 
 63%
 16%
 7%
 5%
 5%
 6%


 Orkney
 74%
 9%
 3%
 9%
 3%
 3%


 Perth and Kinross 
 77%
 9%
 5%
 4%
 4%
 2%


 Renfrewshire 
 75%
 10%
 4%
 4%
 5%
 2%


 Shetland
 75%
 10%
 5%
 5%
 3%
 2%


 South Ayrshire 
 77%
 13%
 2%
 1%
 3%
 3%


 South Lanarkshire 
 69%
 11%
 4%
 4%
 7%
 5%


 Stirling 
 47%
 28%
 9%
 10%
 0%
 7%


 West Dunbartonshire 
 68%
 14%
 4%
 3%
 6%
 5%


 West Lothian 
 72%
 11%
 5%
 5%
 4%
 3%



  Notes:

  1. No schools in Clackmannanshire participated in the survey, figures not available.

  *Less than 0.5% but not 0%.

  Due to rounding, percentages may not add up to 100%.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on (a) direct and (b) indirect drug and alcohol services in Lanarkshire in 2007-08.

Fergus Ewing: Information on what is spent directly and indirectly on drug and alcohol services is not held centrally. Funding is allocated to NHS boards for drug and alcohol treatment and support services. It is for NHS boards together with partners in local Alcohol and Drug Action Teams to decide which services to fund based on identified local need.

  In 2007-08, £1,591,000 was allocated to NHS Lanarkshire to fund drug treatment and support services and £832,722 for alcohol treatment and support services.

  In addition, local authorities allocate funding for alcohol and drug services on the basis of their local needs and priorities. In the past, this level of funding has been significant, and at least comparable to the ring-fenced funding provided to NHS boards. NHS boards also use resources from their unified budget to supplement funds made available through the alcohol and drug misuse budgets.

  Audit Scotland is currently undertaking a study on the scale and effectiveness of spend on alcohol and drugs. The findings from this study are due to be published shortly and should help provide a more complete picture of what is spent.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is provided for drug and alcohol services in Lanarkshire and how this funding is allocated.

Fergus Ewing: Funding is allocated to NHS boards for drug and alcohol treatment and support services and for the delivery of alcohol brief interventions. It is for NHS boards together with local Alcohol and Drug Action Teams to decide which services to fund based on identified local need.

  In 2008-09, £1,651,000 was allocated to NHS Lanarkshire to fund drug treatment and support services and £2,455,698 for alcohol brief interventions and treatment and support services.

  In addition, local authorities allocate funding for alcohol and drug services on the basis of their local needs and priorities. In the past, this level of funding has been significant, and at least comparable to the ring-fenced funding provided to NHS boards.

  NHS boards also use resources from their unified budget to supplement funds made available through the alcohol and drug misuse budgets. £46 million has been allocated to NHS boards over 2008-11 to provide treatment and care to those people affected by hepatitis C, the vast majority of whom will be current or former drug users.

Economy

Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take following the meeting between the First Minister, the Prime Minister and leaders of the devolved administrations on 25 February 2009 to discuss the current economic crisis.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government intends to continue pursuit of our six-point economic recovery programme. We will also continue to press the UK government to reverse its decision to reduce Scottish spending by as much as £500 million in 2010-11 and the year after, as the proposed spending cut is the wrong decision, especially in a time of recession.

Efficient Government

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what savings it made through increased efficiency in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 and what the projected savings are for (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

John Swinney: The published Efficiency Outturn Reports for the 2005-08 efficiency programme contain full details of the efficiency savings made in each year. The 2006-07 report (Bib. number 44112) is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/09/Outturn2007.

  The 2007-08 report (Bib no: 46783) can also be found on the internet at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/10/Outturn2008.

  Details of the efficiency targets and planned savings for the 2008-11 programme are also published on the internet. The latest iteration (Bib. number 45688) can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/05/EDPMay2008.

  Further Efficiency Delivery Plans will be published in March and September of each year. We plan to issue the next revision on 27 March 2009. Copies of all of these documents were placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre on publication.

Environment

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that wildlife and landscape are public goods.

Roseanna Cunningham: Enjoyment of wildlife and landscape generally conform to standard definitions of public goods. For example, appreciation of scenery is freely available to all and the pleasure from the study of wildlife can be shared by all. However, there are also gains from land use which are not public goods and in some instances controls to avoid disturbance of wildlife or sensitive environments may be desirable or necessary in the wider public interest.

Environment

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it proposes that local authorities measure success in meeting national indicator 37 to increase the proportion of adults making one or more visits to the outdoors per week.

Roseanna Cunningham: Single outcome agreements between the Scottish Government and each local authority set out how the authority’s activities will contribute to delivery of the national outcomes and indicators included in the National Performance Framework. The Scottish Recreation Survey includes information from respondents on visits to the outdoors for leisure and recreation during the previous 12 months. Progress on this and other national indicators is reported on the Scottish Government website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/home .

Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the National Performance Framework to be a qualifying plan, programme or strategy for the purposes of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

John Swinney: The National Performance Framework can be considered a qualifying plan, programme or strategy, under Section 5(4) of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005.

Forestry

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish ministers have discussed proposals concerning forestry with representatives of Rothschild since May 2007.

Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish ministers have met with representatives of Rothschild bank on two occasions to receive advice on forestry matters.

Forestry

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what travel and accommodation costs have been incurred by (a) Scottish ministers and (b) officials in connection with meetings with representatives of Rothschild regarding the national forest estate.

Roseanna Cunningham: The meetings attended by ministers were held in Edinburgh. Officials attended meetings in Edinburgh and London. The visits to London also included other business. Therefore, there was no additional travel and accommodation costs for ministers and officials meeting representatives of Rothschild to discuss the national forest estate.

Forestry

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what budget provision has been made for fees and charges by Rothschild in relation to proposals for leasing the national forest estate.

Roseanna Cunningham: No budget provision has been made because no such fees or charges are expected.

Forestry

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-20108 by Michael Russell on 9 February 2009, which ministers and officials attended the six meetings with representatives of Rothschild.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Cabinet Secretaries for Rural Affairs and the Environment, and Finance and Sustainable Growth each attended one meeting, the then Minister for the Environment attended two, the Scottish Government Director General Environment attended five, the Director Forestry Commission Scotland attended four, and the Director General Forestry Commission (GB) attended three.

Forestry Commission

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what capital charge is levied on the budget of Forestry Commission Scotland per hectare of forest land.

Roseanna Cunningham: Capital charges are not levied on a hectarage basis, but on the value of assets shown on a department’s balance sheet. The charge is 3.5% of the average value over an accounting period. Capital charges for the national forest estate amounted to £23.4 million in 2007-08 and since the estate covers some 665,000 hectares we can calculate that the average cost per hectare was £35.

Forestry Commission

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what acreage of forestry is controlled by Forestry Commission Scotland.

Roseanna Cunningham: The national forest estate, managed by Forestry Commission Scotland, covers some 665,000 hectares.

Fuel Poverty

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households were in fuel poverty on 31 December 2007 and in each subsequent quarter for which information is available.

Alex Neil: The Scottish House Condition Survey is the source of official figures for fuel poverty. The latest figures available are for 2007. In 2007, about 586,000 households were in fuel poverty. Since the figures are derived from a survey there is an associated 95% confidence interval which is +/- 68,000 households - giving an estimated 95% confidence interval from 517,000 to 654,000 households.

  The figures are produced annually rather than quarterly. The figures for 2008 will be available in October 2009.

General Practitioners

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that GPs are prescribing antibiotics appropriately and how prescribing is monitored.

Nicola Sturgeon: As with all medicines the decision whether or not to prescribe antibiotics for a patient is a matter for the clinical judgement of the prescriber, informed by advice and evidence about the medicine.

  NHS boards have Prescribing Advisers who monitor the use of medicines by GP practices using data collected by NHS National Services Scotland, and produce feedback reports for GPs. In addition Prescribing Advisers use prescribing indicators to monitor trends in antibiotic use.

  Each NHS board requires to have an Antimicrobial Management Team which has a remit for antimicrobial stewardship in both secondary and primary care.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards no longer use hyaluronan injections; on what basis these decisions were taken, and whether it considers that such injections should be available to patients irrespective of where they live.

Shona Robison: It is not possible to identify from prescribing data available centrally which NHS boards no longer use hyaluronan injections. These data relate to items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors and do not include products dispensed in hospitals or hospital-based clinics.

  Ultimately the decision whether or not to prescribe a treatment for a patient is a matter for the clinical judgement of the patient’s doctor, informed by advice and evidence about the treatment.

Health

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards provide free intra-articular hyaluronan injections for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Shona Robison: It is not possible to identify from prescribing data collected centrally which NHS boards provide free intra-articular hyaluronan injections for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Prescribing data available centrally relate to items dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors and do not include medicines dispensed in hospitals or in hospital-based clinics.

  In addition, medicines can be used to treat more than one condition and it is not possible to identify the different conditions that a medicine was prescribed for.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths have been attributed to thrombosis in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Shona Robison: The information requested is shown in the following table:

  

 Cause of Death
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007


 Coronary thrombosis - all cases are due to it (1)
 6,962
 6,311
 6,046
 5,494
 5,340


 Coronary thrombosis - most cases are due to it (2)
 4,346
 4,340
 4,123
 3,782
 3,767


 Cerebral thrombosis (venous and arterial) - all cases are due to it (3)
 44
 33
 31
 20
 21


 Cerebral thrombosis (venous and arterial) - most cases are due to cerebral or pre-cerebral thrombosis (4)
 3,365
 3,258
 2,922
 2,834
 2,732


 Peripheral arterial thrombosis - most cases are due to it (5)
 248
 245
 265
 302
 278


 Venous thrombosis at various sites - all cases are due to it (6)
 2
 6
 4
 1
 3


 Venous thrombosis at various sites - most cases are due to it (7)
 170
 161
 142
 137
 128


 Other conditions caused by thrombosis - all cases are due to it (8)
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Other conditions caused by thrombosis - most cases are due to it (9)
 17
 21
 15
 10
 20



  Source: General Register Office for Scotland.

  As the figures demonstrate, the vast majority of these deaths are caused by clots in the coronary arteries, which result in certain types of heart attack, and clots in the brain, which result in certain types of stroke.

  In view of the responses generated by the answer given to the question S3W-12541 on 9 May 2008, it should be emphasised that of the 12,289 deaths in 2007, 257 were related to pulmonary embolism and there were also 112 deaths in which Deep Vein Thrombosis was recorded as the underlying cause of death.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Healthcare Associated Infection

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is issued to GPs about prescribing antibiotics, in particular to treat healthcare associated infections (HAI).

Nicola Sturgeon: The following guidance has been issued to NHS boards:

  Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and Scottish Action Plan, 2002.

  Scottish Medicines Consortium published Antimicrobial Prescribing Policy and Practice in Scotland (2005).

  Scottish Management of Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan (ScotMARAP) March 2008. ScotMARAP has replaced the 2002 guidance document and outlines the national programme for Scotland in tackling antimicrobial resistance and prudent prescribing over the next five years in primary and secondary care.

  On 8 July 2008, CEL 30 2008, was sent to all chief executives, medical directors, and infection control manager of NHS boards and Special Health Boards, seeking the immediate implementation of the national policies set out in ScotMARAP.

  Other sources of guidance for prescribers include the British National Formulary which provides advice on the prescribing of medicines including antibacterial drugs for the treatment of MRSA.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under 18 have been detained in police cells for (a) one and (b) more than one night in each of the last three years, broken down by (i) police force and (ii) age.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of people detained in police cells is not held centrally. However it should be noted that people who are detained by the Police under Section 14 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act can only be detained for a maximum of six hours.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders prohibited offenders from entering a gang territory in each of the last two years.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders prohibited offenders from wearing clothing associated with a gang in each of the last two years.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that the judiciary is provided with sufficient information to allow the identification of offenders who are gang members where there is reason to believe that such membership may contribute to a pattern of offending.

Fergus Ewing: It is a matter for the court to be satisfied that sufficient information has been provided to enable it to make a decision, given the facts and circumstances of each individual case.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that the judiciary is provided with sufficient information to allow the use of antisocial behaviour orders to disrupt gang activity where there is reason to believe that such activity may contribute to a pattern of offending.

Fergus Ewing: It is a matter for the court to be satisfied that sufficient information has been provided to enable it to make a decision in respect of an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO), given the facts and circumstances of each individual case.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are serving short-term prison sentences of under (a) three and (b) six months and, of these, how many have a previous history of incarceration.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The following table illustrates the number of prisoners serving less than three months and less than six months and the total of those who have previous periods in custody. The data is as of 14:00 on 2 March 2009.

  

 Sentence
 Total
Previous Periodin Custody


 Less than 3 months
 113
 108


 Less than 6 months and more than or equal to 3 months.
 288
 254

Money Advice

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is of the National Debtline and what its period of operation is expected to be.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is providing £100,000 a year until 2010-11 to the Money Advice Trust, which runs National Debtline. This funding is to ensure that advisors are appropriately trained to provide advice on, for example, the different debt solutions available in Scotland. National Debtline anticipates spending £7.3 million in total during 2009. National Debtline started operating in April 1987. There is no planned end date.

Money Advice

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls were received by the National Debtline and how many were signposted to other organisations.

Alex Neil: During 2008, National Debtline received 256,173 calls. 171,647 were answered by an adviser and a further 2,476 calls were dealt with on their literature order line. In addition, they handled 7,971 email enquiries. Some 3% of clients were signposted on for debt advice elsewhere (generally because they needed face-to-face advice) and 17.5% of clients were signposted elsewhere for matters other than debt (for example, to a doctor or lawyer).

Money Advice

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what outcomes have been achieved by the National Debtline.

Alex Neil: National Debtline is highly effective in helping clients to resolve their debt problems and to avoid further difficulties with debt.

  In their 2008 evaluation, 80% of clients reported that they were able to reach an adviser on the first attempt. 95% of clients expressed themselves as satisfied or very satisfied with National Debtline’s service (79% very satisfied), and 98% of clients said they would recommend or probably recommend the service to someone else who was experiencing difficulty with debt (85% definitely recommend). 91% of clients who set up an arrangement with their creditors said they had maintained it.

  90% of clients felt that they were more knowledgeable about financial matters after receiving advice from National Debtline, and 85% of clients thought that they would be less likely to find themselves in a similar situation again.

Money Advice

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will carry out an independent evaluation of the National Debtline and publish the results.

Alex Neil: National Debtline is already regularly evaluated. The Money Advice Trust commissioned the most recent evaluation in 2008 from Illuminas, an independent market research company. The full report has been published and is available at:

  http://www.infohub.moneyadvicetrust.org/content_files/files/ndl_illuminas_2008_final.ppt.

People with Learning Difficulties

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what charges are made for learning disability services by each local authority.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what charges are made for home care services by each local authority.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what charges are made for day services for (a) elderly people and (b) people with a learning disability by each local authority.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what charges are made for the provision of home delivered meals by each local authority.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what charges are made for alarm services for vulnerable people by each local authority.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the charging policies of each local authority for specific social care services or client groups is not held centrally.

  The National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 provide the framework for local authorities to charge for care that they provide or arrange in residential care homes, including for people with learning disabilities.

  Under Section 87 (1A) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 a local authority may charge for certain adult non-personal domiciliary services it provides. In keeping with local accountability, it is for local authorities to decide their charging policies for these non-personal care services. The legislation requires that any charges levied should not be more than appears to be reasonably practicable for the recipient to pay, taking account of his or her other financial commitments.

  Guidance issued to local authorities by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in January 2006 recommends a consistent framework for charging and encourages councils to demonstrate that they are following best practice. The guidance is currently under review by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

Planning

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning appeals relating to the South Lanarkshire Council area have been (a) upheld and (b) rejected by the Scottish Ministers in each year since devolution.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is set out in the following table:

  

 Decisions Issued
 by Reporter
 by Scottish Ministers


 Allowed
 Dismissed
 Allowed
 Dismissed


 1 July to end of 1999
 4
 9
 0
 3


 in 2000
 9
 23
 1
 0


 in 2001
 13
 14
 0
 0


 in 2002
 12
 16
 0
 1


 in 2003
 10
 20
 1
 0


 in 2004
 15
 23
 0
 1


 in 2005
 10
 15
 0
 0


 in 2006
 11
 27
 0
 0


 in 2007
 10
 27
 0
 0


 in 2008
 16
 25
 0
 1


 2009 to date
 2
 2
 0
 0



  In the majority of appeals dealt with by the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA), the decision is made by a Reporter appointed by Scottish ministers, ministers have therefore no involvement in the decision. In certain instances cases are determined by Scottish ministers. In these cases the reporter will submit a report with recommendations to ministers who make the final decision on the case.

  For comparisons sake, the percentage of planning appeals allowed by reporters in 2008 for the South Lanarkshire Council area was 39%. This is slightly higher than the national average of 36% of appeals allowed by reporters in 2008.

Post-Natal Care

Angela Constance (Livingston) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specialist weaning programmes are available on the NHS for tube-fed infants.

Angela Constance (Livingston) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the NHS offers weaning programmes for tube-fed infants equivalent to the one provided in the Kinderpsychosomatik ward in the Graz children’s hospital in Austria.

Shona Robison: No weaning programmes for tube-fed infants equivalent to the one provided in the Kinderpsychosomatik ward in the Graz Children’s Hospital are provided by the NHS in Scotland.

  It is the opinion of some professionals that there is insufficient evidence of the potential benefits of the Graz model or of its outcome in different clinical situations to determine whether it is appropriate for an infant or child to be referred.

  In Scotland, weaning infants and children off tube feeding takes place in paediatric units using a multi-disciplinary approach involving paediatricians, paediatric dietitians, speech and language therapists and psychologists. Treatment is based on the individual needs of the infant or child and their family.

Post-Natal Care

Angela Constance (Livingston) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support can be offered to families requiring access to the specialist tube-fed weaning programme offered in the Kinderpsychosomatik ward in the Graz children’s hospital in Austria.

Shona Robison: There are two routes by which an NHS patient can go abroad for treatment in certain European countries. The long established E112 scheme, when the NHS agrees to treatment abroad and pays for it beforehand and, following a judgement in the European Court of Justice in 2006, under Article 49 (of the European Treaty which guarantees the rights of service users to access services) where the patient pays for their treatment and is reimbursed by the NHS once it has been carried out. However, in both scenarios, prior authorisation is required from the relevant NHS board responsible for the provision of the patient’s health care.

  Guidance was issued to NHS boards in October 2007, which sets out the considerations that should be taken into account in deciding whether it is appropriate to authorise treatment abroad and, if so, by which route.

  In more general terms, there are proposals for a cross-border health care directive, which, amongst other things, would codify the Article 49 case law.

Post-Natal Care

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the findings of its review of the National Physical Activity Strategy.

Shona Robison: The review was launched and published on the NHS Health Scotland website on 24 February 2009.

Prison Service

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rebuild cost is for each prison in the prison estate.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Government Infrastructure Investment Plan 2008, published in March 2008, provides details of the funding and planned investment in the prison estate. This includes the redevelopment of some prisons on existing or new sites and forms part of a rolling programme designed to create a fit for purpose prison estate. During 2008-09 to 2010-11, an average of £120 million per annum will be provided to support this programme.

  The rebuild cost for each prison in the prison estate is not available. Typically, the cost of redeveloping an existing prison (with around 700 prisoner places) would be in the region of some £100-130 million depending on the particular site, role of the prison, design, planning considerations, market pricing etc.

Prison Service

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the evidence given to the Public Petitions Committee on 10 February 2009 by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, whether there are technical reasons for which the site of HMP Aberdeen can not be used for a new community prison.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  HMP Grampian will be the new community prison for the region and will accommodate all prisoner categories including those on remand. The site at HMP Aberdeen is too small for the proposed capacity of the new prison, HMP Grampian.

Prison Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on plans for a new prison in Inverness.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service, working in conjunction with Highland Council, has identified possible sites for the proposed HMP Highland and further work is now being carried out to evaluate the suitability of these sites.

Regeneration

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what investment it or its agencies have made in city centre regeneration projects in the City of Aberdeen in each year from 1999-2000.

Alex Neil: Over this time period, a range of funds provided by the Scottish Government have been invested by local partners in Aberdeen to support city centre focussed and other regeneration projects. The total amount of investment deployed on Aberdeen city centre regeneration specifically is not held centrally.

Regeneration

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what investment it or its agencies have made in city centre regeneration projects in the City of Dundee in each year from 1999-2000.

Alex Neil: Over this time period, a range of funds provided by the Scottish Government have been invested by local partners in Dundee to support city centre focussed and other regeneration projects. The total amount of investment deployed on Dundee city centre regeneration specifically is not held centrally.

Regeneration

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what investment it or its agencies have made in city centre regeneration projects in the City of Edinburgh in each year from 1999-2000.

Alex Neil: Over this time period, a range of funds provided by the Scottish Government have been invested by local partners in Edinburgh to support city centre focussed and other regeneration projects. The total amount of investment deployed on Edinburgh city centre regeneration specifically is not held centrally.

Regeneration

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what investment it or its agencies have made in city centre regeneration projects in the City of Glasgow in each year from 1999-2000.

Alex Neil: Over this time period, a range of funds provided by the Scottish Government have been invested by local partners in Glasgow to support city centre focussed and other regeneration projects. The total amount of investment deployed on Glasgow city centre regeneration specifically is not held centrally.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the fabric of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) buildings in Dalkeith.

Keith Brown: Scottish ministers are currently considering a range of options regarding the future of the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s Dalkeith operations. Any decisions made will take account of a variety of factors including assessments of the current building.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the current office accommodation for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) in Dalkeith is fit for purpose.

Keith Brown: Scottish ministers are currently considering a range of options regarding the future of the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s Dalkeith operations. Any decisions made will take account of the suitability of the current building.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19440 by Rhona Brankin on 6 January 2009, when it expects the options regarding the proposed relocation of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) from Dalkeith to have been considered and a decision on the relocation to be made.

Keith Brown: This matter is under consideration by ministers and a decision is expected to be announced shortly.

Smoking

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the retailers and retail interest groups that it consulted directly regarding proposals to introduce new restrictions on tobacco vending machines.

Shona Robison: In developing the regulatory impact assessment on proposals to reduce the availability of tobacco from vending machines to under-18s, the Scottish Government met with Imperial Tobacco and its subsidiary Sinclair Collis, which provides, operates and maintains the majority of tobacco vending machines in Scotland. The Scottish Government attempted to make contact with the National Association of Cigarette Machine Operators on a number of occasions with no response. The Scottish Licensed Trade Association were also consulted on proposals.

Smoking

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether proposals to introduce new restrictions on the use of tobacco vending machines are reflected in the regulatory impact assessment on Scotland’s Future is Smoke Free: A Smoking Prevention Action Plan and, if not, what it is doing to assess the regulatory impact of this proposal.

Shona Robison: The regulatory impact assessment (RIA) on proposals contained in Scotland’s Future is Smoke Free: A Smoking Prevention Action Plan  considered the impact of further regulating tobacco vending machines. The RIA recommended an outright ban of tobacco vending machines as being the most effective way of reducing sales to under-18s.

Smoking

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the retailers and retail interest groups that it has met to discuss the economic impact of proposals in Scotland’s Future is Smoke Free: A Smoking Prevention Action Plan .

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government Consulted extensively with retailers and retail interest groups on proposals in Scotland’s Future is Smoke Free: A Smoking Prevention Action Plan :

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/05/19144342/0/.

  The following table provides a breakdown of meetings held to discuss proposals:

  

 Organisation
Number of Meetings


 The Scottish Grocers’ Federation (represents 350 retailers across Scotland with over 900 stores)
 5*


 The National Federation of Retail Newsagents (represents some 1,600 retailers)
 3


 The Scottish Retail Consortium (represents 75% of the retail market)
 3*


 Scottish Wholesale Association
 2


 The Independent Scottish Specialist Tobacconists’ Association 
 1


 Tobacco Retailers Alliance (represents 25,000 retailers across the UK)
 1


 Sinclair Collis (vending machine operator)
 1


 Visits to tobacco retailers
 2


 Meetings with individual tobacco retailer
 1


 Scottish Licensed Trade Association
 1*



  Note: *Includes the Scottish Ministerial Working Group on Tobacco Control meeting in November 2008.

Smoking

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to raise awareness and increase the participation of retailers and retail interest groups in the regulatory impact assessment on proposals in Scotland’s Future is Smoke Free: A Smoking Prevention Action Plan .

Shona Robison: The Scottish Government actively sought the views of retailers and retail representative groups over an extensive consultation period (April 2008 until February 2009) in order to develop its regulatory impact assessment on proposals in Scotland’s Future is Smoke Free: A Smoking Prevention Action Plan http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/05/19144342/0/ .

Smoking

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of representations made to the regulatory impact assessment on proposals in Scotland’s Future is Smoke Free: A Smoking Prevention Action Plan is from the retail sector.

Shona Robison: The primary purpose of the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) was to consider the impact of proposals on business and, in particular, on small businesses. Almost 65 per cent of meetings held to discuss the RIA were with tobacco retailers and 60 per cent of written representations in relation to the RIA were from tobacco retailers. Other representations made in relation to the RIA were from local government, health interest groups and tobacco manufacturers. Just over 80% of letters received by the Scottish Government in response to proposals in Scotland’s Future is Smoke Free: A Smoking Prevention Action Plan  were from retailers.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/05/19144342/0/

Student Finance

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to commission research into the impact of the abolition of the graduate endowment fee.

Fiona Hyslop: Initial evidence on how the abolition of the graduate endowment fee has impacted on young peoples’ decision to study should be available from the Student Income, Expenditure and Debt Survey (SIEDS) which is due to be published in late spring 2009. We will consider commissioning specific research into the impact of the abolition of the graduate endowment fee once the findings of this survey have been analysed. This will also be subject to sufficient resources being available to fund any further work.

Teachers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time equivalent teachers were employed as at 31 December 2008 and how this compares with 31 December (a) 2007 and (b) 2006.

Keith Brown: Results of the September 2008 Teacher Census are due to be published later this month. They will be available in Teachers in Scotland 2008 on the government website at the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00720/ .

  The information for previous years, again as at the September census date, are available in table 6.1 of Teachers in Scotland 2007 on the government website at the following link:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00646.

Young Offenders

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners have been held at each young offenders institution in each month in the last three years for which information is available.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Young offenders are held in Polmont, Greenock Darroch Hall, Perth Friarton Hall and Cornton Vale. The average number of prisoners held in each from 2006 is illustrated in the following table.

  

 
 Cornton Vale
 Greenock
 Perth
 Polmont


 2009


 January
 34
 67
 86
 584


 February
 32
 69
 92
 583


 2008


 January
 38
 67
 96
 604


 February
 32
 71
 115
 615


 March
 32
 68
 118
 620


 April
 35
 68
 113
 626


 May
 38
 64
 113
 613


 June
 39
 62
 109
 615


 July
 39
 67
 105
 621


 August
 40
 68
 105
 607


 September
 38
 65
 102
 623


 October
 40
 62
 101
 633


 November
 37
 63
 105
 635


 December
 32
 68
 95
 621


 2007


 January
 44
 20
 125
 560


 February
 41
 25
 127
 585


 March
 40
 22
 121
 614


 April
 36
 17
 122
 631


 May
 39
 22
 124
 616


 June
 37
 22
 125
 617


 July
 36
 22
 119
 632


 August
 34
 21
 123
 629


 September
 36
 28
 132
 628


 October
 31
 17
 121
 625


 November
 36
 30
 113
 613


 December
 37
 69
 99
 586


 2006


 January
 33
 26
 101
 565


 February
 32
 28
 121
 554


 March
 31
 28
 131
 550


 April
 35
 24
 117
 561


 May
 38
 22
 122
 545


 June
 43
 19
 130
 550


 July
 44
 27
 122
 548


 August
 46
 28
 119
 560


 September
 45
 29
 117
 573


 October
 38
 32
 118
 557


 November
 44
 21
 124
 570


 December
 45
 21
 119
 566

Young Offenders

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) design capacity and (b) safe operating limits are for each young offenders institution.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The design capacity and Assessed Operation Limit for each young offenders institution is illustrated in the following table.

  

 Establishment
 Design Capacity
 AOL


 Polmont
 623
 700


 Greenock Darroch Hall
 57
 54


 Perth Friarton Hall
 89
 89

Young Offenders

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what formula is used in the allocation of funding for young offenders institutions.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  There is no set formula for the allocation of funding for young offenders institutions or prisons.

  Funding for all establishments is provided according to the establishment’s needs based on historical funding, the staffing arrangements in that particular establishment, any changes to key services or contracts, and the need to generate efficiency savings.

Young Offenders

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many offenders are incarcerated in young offenders institutions for knife crime offences.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS do not know what particular offences involved knives. Many assaults, murders or culpable homicides may have involved the use of a knife, and the offence of carrying an offensive weapon may include carrying a knife. However, this will not be recorded on the offender’s warrant. One offence description mentions "knife" specifically; that is "To Carry a knife". 55 young offenders have this offence recorded in their current warrant.

Young Offenders

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners are held in each young offenders institution and how many have a previous history of incarceration.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The number of young offenders held in each young offender’s institution and the number of those who have a previous period in custody is illustrated in the following table. The data is as of 13:15 on 2 March 2009.

  

 Establishment
 Total
Previous Periodin Custody


 Cornton Vale
 41
 34


 Greenock Darroch Hall
 30
 25


 Perth Friarton Hall
 59
 50


 Polmont
 624
 530

Young Offenders

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what alcohol rehabilitation programmes are available to prisoners under 21 years old who offended while under the influence of alcohol and how many places on such programmes are available in (a) Scotland and (b) YOI Polmont.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  In 2007-08 a total of 944 substance related interventions were delivered in Scottish prisons against a target of 800. Of these 139 (14.7%) were delivered to prisoners under 21-years-old of which 92 (9.7%) were delivered in Polmont. These interventions are either alcohol specific or include this under the wider heading of substance misuse.

  During 2008-09 delivery of the "Substance Related Offending Behaviour Programme" was extended to HM YOI Polmont, HMP and YOI Cornton Vale, HMP Barlinnie, HMP Edinburgh and HMP Glenochil.

  The following prisons currently holding young offenders now deliver the listed Substance Misuse interventions:

  HM YOI Polmont: "Alcohol Awareness", "First Step" and "Substance Related Offending Behaviour Programme".

  HMP and YOI Cornton Vale: "Alcohol Awareness", "Drugs Action for Change" and "Substance Related Offending Behaviour Programme".

  HMP Greenock: "Alcohol Awareness" and "Drugs Action for Change".

  HMP Perth: "Alcohol Awareness" and "First Step".

  In addition, offenders also have access to "Alcoholics Anonymous" and the "Enhanced Addictions Casework Service (EACS)". This provides a range of interventions and in-prison support to those serving 31 days or over and sets up throughcare referrals, based on agreed criteria, with external service providers to ensure continuation of support in the community.

Young Offenders

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many young offenders in each young offenders institution have a learning disability.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Prison Service does not centrally collate data on the number of young offenders who have a formal diagnosis of learning disability. However, the SPS does seek to address the presenting needs of prisoners identified with learning disability and learning difficulties.

  The SPS has reviewed its service provision for learning disability and difficulties and is seeking to implement an improved detection and alerting process to identify such people in custody.

  Assessment of learning needs shows that 64% of women offenders and 90% of prisoners in HM YOI Polmont experience communication and literacy difficulties.

Young People

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it proposes to initiate programmes as part of its Youth Justice Framework based on evidence from the Action for Children Scotland Renfrewshire Primary Support Project.

Fergus Ewing: The Action for Children Scotland Renfrewshire Primary Support Project is in line with the principles of Preventing Offending by Young People – A Framework for Action  (Bib. number 46408), published in June 2008.

  In this partnership Framework, we made a commitment to develop an evidence base around what works in early and effective intervention. Over the coming months we will undertake research which will look at a wide range of responses available and their effectiveness, with a view to identifying and disseminating good practice.

  The Scottish Government does not intend to initiate programmes but will support local agencies to learn from evidence of what works, and plan services accordingly.